Knowing that you screwed up....!

When I was a small boy picking boogers and chasing frogs....I had a lot of thing to learn. I learned that when I put my hand on a hot stove, it was HOT and it hurt my hand. I also learned that when I come into the house covered from head to toe with mud and ran through the house...that it also hurt....but it wasn't my hand that time!

Well as I get older, I find that there are still moments that are just like those. The only problem is that sometimes pride and frustration prevent me from realizing these opportunities for a while.

Here is a wonderful example:

This past Sunday I was playing in a $30+2 No Limit Hold'em event at my local poker club. It was after the first break and the blinds were at 300/600. I had just come back from some really bad hands - and I wasn't playing that well anyway. My chip stack was as low as 600 but at this point it was around 4200.

During this hand I am dealt AK suited in middle position. Bet gets to me and 2x the BB to 1200 chips. BB calls and everyone else folds. Flop comes out 10h 3c 2d. BB checks. I bet 1000 chips and the BB calls. Either BB is riding a pair, or he has tripped up the board. He can't be chasing much else there.

Turn is 6. I check and he checks.

River is a Jh. BB pushes me all in, and I figure he has nothing and I call.

He shows a Jack.

OK....synopsis.

Mistake #1. This player was chasing crap hands all game, and was getting lucky. My bet after the flop of 1000 was weak. If I was going to bet, I should have pushed all in. He would have folded and I would have at least taken a 3400 chip pot.

The Check at the turn was more for information than anything. I wanted to see if he was going to quick check it or think about it - or bet. The mistake was that this was not the right hand to employ this tactic. It would be one thing if the player was good, or at least established as a tight player - but he was pretty loose and had tendancies to be a calling station.

Mistake #3. I assumed a calling station making a bet on the river meant a bluff. Calling stations never bet unless they have a hand. I was too confident of my AK and just pushed. It may have been out of frustration...who knows.

At least I learned from it. There are many different player types in poker, and one of the most important things that you can do is learn how someone plays and assess their specific weakness to win pots from them.

My weakness on Sunday was that I was there!

See you at the tables....

-m²

Good Play....Bad Timing!

Our Poker Club hosted a High Stakes game with a $250 buyin last week. We only had 13 players, so I felt that if I could get past the first hour I was in pretty good shape to get into the money.

This would not be the case.

First player out was Nick (a fairly good player) who raised pre-flop with pocket Kings. He was re-raised by the Big Blind who had AJ suited in clubs. The player with Kings raised All-In, and was called by the Big Blind. The turn card was an Ace and that was all she wrote for Nick.

So I was reading in the book a few weeks ago that one of the best ways to bluff at a TIGHT table is to make a big bet (min 2x Big Blind) from middle position. This makes players think that you have at least AK and may have KK or even AA. Typically the blinds will fold unless they have A with a big kicker and you will only get action from pocket pairs or really good hands. I have found that this strategy can save me an information bet after the flop if I even get that far.

Back to the tourney...

About 2o minutes after Nick was knocked out, I am in middle position with 10-7 offsuit. I raise 3xBB and there are two callers. Flop comes 10-6-9. BB checks, and since I have top pair, the bet is 50 (BB), and the two other players call. Turn card is a 7. BB bets 600. I have two pair with the top pair on the board, but there is a nasty straight draw out there. I have to worry about an 8 out there, probably with an A or K as the high card. BB has been playing crap hands all day with some bluffing so he probably has the 8, but I think about it and figure that a big bet takes the pot. I push all in with my remaining 3800 chips.

Button (still in the hand) immediately calls. Uh-Oh! BB calls. Button flips over K-8 suited, and BB shows 8-7 offsuit! I flip my 10-7 over knowing that I am toast.

With only 4 outs, and hoping for a 10 or a 7 to complete my boat I run through the hand again through my mind. 8 times out of 10 a good player will fold hands like that preflop. And I know that I should have bet heavy at the flop as well to scare off at least one of the two players still in the hand. Flop comes another 6 and I am the second one out.

Would'a, Should'a, Could'a...

It was only one of two hands that I played poorly all day. Too bad it cost my $250!

-see you at the tables!